Are governments doing enough to keep kids safe? No. Canada can do better, say paediatricans

All provinces and territories need to make better use of public policy to protect and promote the health and well-being of Canada’s children and youth, according to the Canadian Paediatric Society. And while many provinces have made improvements, Canada still has a long way to go when it comes to injury prevention.

Too much of a good thing

We all have a natural inclination to protect wee ones from the elements, either by avoiding the hot midday sun in August, or warding off the sub zero chill of January.  But there’s nothing worse than passing a stroller riding, snow-suited baby buried under layers and layers of blankets, donning a thick hat and little mittens – indoors! 

Your baby just fell asleep in the car seat but you have to run into the drug store to pick up a prescription. It'll only take a minute, so you're wondering, "How long can I leave my baby in the car if I crack the windows?"

The answer: It is never okay to leave a child alone in the car - not even for a minute!

With summer in full swing, so are the plans for all those barbeques, cottage and camping trips! Have you ever thought about taking some of those nifty planning skills to hold a  fundraising event in support of Safe Kids Canada? The event staff at SickKids Foundation – one of the primary supporters of Safe Kids Canada – are more than eager to help, and we invite you to put your event planning caps on (trust me, you all got ‘em)!

With all the to-do about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first official visit to Canada, much has been made of the fashions that Kate has donned on the tour.

This morning I read a tweet that asked why do parents always buy something to keep their kids safe rather than teach them how to be safe?  Well, it is an intriguing question and I could make arguments for and against teaching safety. But I think when we see technology that can assist us in making our kids safe; we are willing to make that extra investment, even though it’s not always the best choice.

One morning last July, coroners and pathologists who meet daily at the Ontario Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit, found themselves asking yet again, “why a young child has drowned?” It was clear that something had to be done to abate the tragic loss of life due to drowning, which is completely preventable. It was at this moment that the seed was planted to review these deaths and today the Ontario Coroner released results of a review of all drowning deaths in Ontario in 2010 from May to the end of September. Most disturbingly was the realization that the 13 young children who drowned in Ontario in last summer, were all under the age of five. This was truly tragic.  At such a young age, children are completely reliant on parents as their first layer of protection against drowning. 

When I think of fathers and child safety, I can’t help but recall some of the crazy videos I’ve seen of dads driving ATVs while pulling their youngsters in a Cozy Coup, jumping off a roof onto a trampoline, and starting a barbeque with gasoline, none of which turned out well.

Summer is in full swing and nothing can take you and your family away from the hustle and bustle of the city like a good, old-fashioned camping trip. But before you start casting your fishing lines, here are a few safety tips to pack into your tackle box:

When your child outgrew their forward facing car seat, did you move him or her into a booster seat? If you did, you’re one of the growing numbers of Canadian families that use this important safety device. In order to be properly protected, children need to use a booster seat in the car from the time they outgrow their forward facing car seat until they are at least four feet nine inches (145 cm) tall.

As the weather gets warmer, children start to head once again to the playground.  Sometimes, parents are surprised by what they find when they arrive there.  The winter weather can harden the sand and gravel under the swings, splinter wooden handrails and even crack plastic slides.   What can you do if you have a concern about your playground?

“I don’t want to hear any excuses!”  This is a common refrain delivered by parents to their children.  Kids seem to be able to come up with the most creative ones in an attempt to avoid everything from doing their homework, to making their beds, to eating their vegetables.  As the mother of an eight-year-old, I’m beginning to believe I’ve heard them all!

It was the concept of excuses that struck me late last summer. I was sitting on the end of a dock, enjoying the afternoon sun and I watched lazily as a motor boat sped out around the lake – mom, dad and two kids out for an enjoyable afternoon on the water.  “Good,” I thought.  “The kids are wearing their lifejackets – good decision.” 

Governments, international agencies, civil society organizations and private companies from more than 100 countries are launching the UN’s Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. From Tanzania to Sri Lanka and from Namibia to Mexico, presidents and prime ministers are expressing their commitment and launching national plans for the Decade. To symbolize the launch, national monuments are illuminated with the road safety "tag", the new symbol for the Decade, from New York City, to Rio de Janeiro, Warsaw, Sydney, Moscow, Colombo, Geneva and in Toronto the CN Tower was lighted in yellow. These events mark the start of the Decade which seeks to save 5 million lives over the 10-year period.

Picture it, your child has been hired to deliver weekly flyers for a family friend’s business and he is happy to have the chance to make a little money. Another older child is showing him the route and giving him tips. Your son is surprised to learn that part of the route includes using a dirt path that leads right across the neighbourhood railway tracks, which has been used as a short cut for years to reach houses that the business wants to access.

While the media may seem more engrossed with the “wedding of the century” this week, Canadians still have a big decision to make on May 2, 2011. 
Yes it is election time again and time for Canadians to choose leaders who represent their values.” Here at Safe Kids Canada we value a culture of safety where children can be active and safe at the same time. 

Why are 3500 children injured and another 61  killed in car crashes, even though car seat laws are in place? Why are parents challenged by these life-saving devices? Could you design a better car seat? These are questions that always come up in conversations at Safe Kids Canada and we thought why not host a forum where we can invite experts, parents and really anyone with an interest, to discuss, debate and learn from one another as to how we can better protect children when riding in a car.

As many of you know from my previous blog posts, I  am hooked on my Google Alerts which are set for the keywords of ‘safety’ and ‘injury’. This often gets me into pondering how much parents know, need to know or want to know about injury prevention. 

What do all helmet-wearing skiers and snowboarders have in common? They all have really bad helmet hair!

Gas fireplaces are perfect for keeping you and your family warm throughout the winter, but can pose a risk for severe burns to young children and infants.

It was a hard lesson for Noreen and her five year old daughter. Just as Noreen was telling her daughter to stop climbing, her daughter fell with her hands landing flat onto the fireplace glass. Noreen's biggest regret was not being more aware of all the dangers created by her home’s gas fireplace.

Snowmobiles have been around for almost 100 years in Canada, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that they became widely manufactured and used. Whether for recreation, or the more necessary purpose of transportation in rural or isolated communities, the dangers snowmobiles pose to children are the same.

Imagine if you will that I want to sell you a car. This car can only be used in winter, has no breaks, no steering, no seatbelts, and no airbags. While it can only be used going downhill, you can’t beat its low cost price of five dollars and the fact that it uses no fuel. As an added bonus it is made entirely of plastic, so it will never rust. Would you buy it? Would you feel safe using it? Would you let your kids ride in it? 

Whether you’re sliding on a toboggan, crazy carpet or like my Dad in the 1940’s a shovel, speeding downhill at your local sledding hill is one of the great joys of childhood. I remember vividly sliding down the neighbourhood hill and walking up the sides trying to avoid the dreaded “bowling alley” scenario, because my brother would deliberately try to run me over with his toboggan.

The gift-giving season is upon us and most folks have little ones on their lists. All kids love to receive toys, but how do we know which ones are safe? How do we play safely with those toys? And what about products that help parents take care of their children? Reports during the last couple of months about lead in children's toys and some recent high-profile recalls can leave you in a quandary.

Snow! Oh no, not the snow! Anything but the snow! I am not ready for the snow! The fact is the snow always seems to sneak up on me. Not sure where my denial of winter comes from, but maybe I should start by embracing winter instead of bemoaning all of the “extras” it seems to bring…extra clothing, extra foot wear, extra spending! But there is one extra that I don’t resent; my ski helmet.

Just when you thought we couldn’t possibly have more information on the Internet about how to keep kids healthy, safe, watered, fed and active, the Government of Canada has created a new website to help parents do just that. Well, it’s more of a repository of all the information the government has on a variety of topics from allergies to transportation and from product recalls to nutrition and safety.

In July we asked members of communities from across Canada to apply for a FedEx grant to start a Pace Car program in their neighbourhood. We are pleased to announce that 10 neighbourhoods in Canada have agreed to slow down and make the streets a little safer for all of us, pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike.

As a kid living in a mining town in Northern Ontario, watching an ore laden train go through my neighbourhood was a regular occurrence. And I often used the train tracks as a pathway to the local shopping mall. It was very handy, it was always clear of snow in the winter and it was a direct route from my backyard to the mall. At least it was, until they put up a fence about 10 years ago, long after I had moved away.  

On Halloween, your neighbourhood will most likely be swarming with children, and it's your job to be sure they get their treats home safely. Trick-or-treating, a fun-filled activity that little ghosts and goblins look forward to each October, can quickly turn into a night of horror if someone is hurt.

Most people think of Halloween as a time for fun and treats. And for kids, the excitement of Halloween can easily distract them from good safety habits. When rumours spread of a house with “good candy” we often see kids crossing streets at mid-block rather than at corners or crosswalks, or choosing the shortest rather than the safest route across streets, often darting out between parked cars, which put them at risk for injury.

Safe Kids Canada, along with several other health, environmental and consumer groups has been working hard to get Bill C-36, the Consumer Product Safety Act, through the House of Commons and is urging the government to pass Bill C-36 before the holiday gift-giving season begins. 

Most of us live in urban centres, rarely venturing out to the country to visit farms and soak up the rural culture. Farms feed families and communities. They are both workplaces with heavy equipment, huge vehicles, specialized implements, large animals and water areas and homes where children live and play. 

Our friends at ParticipACTION have declared that September 18^th will be sports day in Canada. And they want to give all Canadians the opportunity to celebrate the power of sport to build community, fortify our national spirit and facilitate healthy, active living.

With summer coming to a close and September around the corner, one’s thoughts naturally turn to…hockey! 

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and other off-highway vehicles (OHVs) are a big part of many families’ lives, usually for recreation, but sometimes for work too. They are definitely fun to drive and kids are eager to try them out. But ATVs are machines and they are dangerous.

The Globe and Mail article Force cyclists to wear helmets and they will (Aug. 11), about a recent study demonstrating the effectiveness of helmet legislation, helps dispel many erroneous beliefs held by many who oppose such measures, namely that bicycle helmet legislation discourages bicycling and that the costs of wearing a helmet outweigh the potential benefits. 

Parents have known for a long time that babies and kids need to be in car seats when travelling, but as children tend to fall asleep in them, we often don’t have the heart to wake them and remove them from the seat once we get to our destination.

In talking with members of the public and the media over the past few weeks, everyone seems shocked at the inordinate number of drownings we have already experienced this summer. I always feel like this shouldn’t be news to anyone. We always have more drownings in the summer than any other time of year, because more people are in, or around, the water in warmer weather.

 Today a reporter asked me: “Why do you always compare wearing a hockey helmet to wearing a bike helmet? Is this really appropriate?”